Winter of Sorrow
by Squalukal
Summary: The story of Baker 4 Squad and the part they played during Operation Hollow Storm. Acts 1,2,3 and 4 available. Please leave any comments you have.
1. Chapter 1

**Winter of Sorrow**

Act 1

He watched from the window above, pumping hot lead into the grubs, staining the snow red with their blood but the wave was still yet to break against our mighty wall of fire. That's when he seen it happen, before his eyes.

Standing in his bright baby blue armour, his head with the short cut black hair protruding from the all encompassing uniform that seemed like a second skin to him, jolted back unnaturally and dropped to the ground. A pool of blood started to form around the prone body and from his lips.

"NO! NO! Pick him up Jase! Pick him up!" Jacob shouted while continuing to pump bullets into the grubs, not even bothering to aim anymore, he didn't care about the grubs anymore, just wanting to help his buddy up from his near death like state.

Jase bounded over the cover and grabbed Stefan by the collar and dragged him into cover and started laying down covering fire while Jacob bounded down the stairs of the barn house to their position. Jacob was terrified.

It was the worst case scenario for Jacob as squad leader. He didn't think he deserved that position at all but Hoffman was hard to argue with at times. Jase looked at him as he came out the door, his medium length black hair blowing in the wind like the rugged warrior hero he was made out to be.

"He doesn't look to good Jake. Losing quite a bit of blood and were under heavy fire from the grubs!" he said in that oh so calm manner he always portrayed. Jacob reached into his com-bead and shouted into the mic.

"This is Baker 4 calling for casevac! We got a man down!" he roared.

"This is Control, were sending out ravens now and…Alpha 3 is coming to support your extraction, ETA 5 minutes." the voice said over the comm.

The grubs were trying to close the distance and Jase popped up out of his cover and raised his longshot and a head popped off the grubs shoulders. Jacob was emptying clips from his lancer and was quickly going through the clips and was starting to lift some clips off Stefan's pouches.

"5 minutes Stef, 5 mintues ya hear me? Then you're going back to Jacinto for a big hot meal and a shower! Just you hang in there ya here?" Jacob was shouting over the din of combat.

In his ear the com-bead bleaped and then a voice crackled. "This is Alpha 3 moving in from your rear, start falling back Baker, that's an order."

The armoured figures moved into the cover strewn across the street and started adding their fire to the battle while Jacob hoisted Stefan over his shoulders and began to sprint back towards the City centre.

"Were almost there Stef, just hold out for another few minutes!" He said to him as he bounded down the street. In his peripheral vision he could see the Raven starting to land and the cabin door opening up. Jacob reached the door and turned around and put Stefan down on the floor.

"He took a few rounds to the chest but I think the armour sucked up most of the damage but he is starting to lose a lot of blood!" he shouted to the medic, the roar of the Raven's blades drowning out his voice.

"Don't worry he will be fine, get back to the fight Sergeant!" he replied and then the Raven dusted off to the skies.

Jase just caught up with Jacob and looked at him not needing to say anything, the expression on his face the same as his.

Baker 3 had been together since the start of this grub war. They had been together well before it but not as a COG fighting unit. They had worked together and had been to college together but the war had changed them and forged them together into a well drilled fighting machine. They had taken a few shots but nothing too bad, they seemed to have a lucky streak that until now hadn't been broken since before the Lightmass bombing when they lost Connor to a sniper shot outside the Safety zone of Jacinto.

The battle for Landown was tough and was wearing down the gears more than they thought it would. There were too many new rookies to blood in this fight and not enough experienced troops left to train them all before they went to battle. Mikael was still down at the battle with Alpha and pinned down by the locust on the other side of the bridge.

Jacob could hear the voices in his ear saying that Mikael had been rescued from the other side of the bridge and making his way back to regroup with him and in the distance he could see the long haired truck driver running down the street whooping and a wailing like a madman. It was very uncharacteristic of anybody in the COG so no doubt a lifeboater.

"Fuck yeah! Taught them dirty lil grubs a lesson eh?" he was shouting as he approaching them.

"Yeah, give them a good run for their money so you did but you nearly got yourself killed." Jacob replied a bit worried.

"I been fighting grubs for god knows how many years now and I'm still here where others ain't so I don't think I'm gonna go dying now." He said in a tone that showed some respect to the fallen but that instinct of _look after number one_.

"When can we get moving again then?" Jase asked in his usually _cut to the fucking chase_ tone.

"Whenever your ready boys, though you seem to be a bit short?" Mikael said casually.

They jumped up on the Assault Derrick which though technically was called something else, everybody referred to as "Jenny". Every damn derrick driver had a name for their rig which didn't seem to bother many of the gears except that damn Baird in Delta who complained about everything and Jacob was taking a guess that he was going to complain about naming rigs as well.

The ride to Landown had been tough but the units at the front of the convoy had been the hardest hit, losing a couple of ravens and a few derricks and most importantly, losing men.

That was the hardest thing to keep a hold of these days. The APC's and the Centaurs and the Ravens were valuable but not as much as the men who were driving them. The Human race was losing more and more men and women everyday either to the damn grubs or joining the damn stranded.

It was hard for Gears to accept why the stranded wouldn't join up and fight for their survival instead of being the lowest of the low scum trying to scavenge the dead bodies of fighting men and broken COG equipment to make ends meet. Some had joined Operation Lifeboat but not enough.

The rig came to a halt inside the cemetery beside some other rigs and all around was the wreckage of another battle with the damn grubs. There were some COG bodies still on the ground and lots more grub bodies decomposing where they died. But some of the rigs had been destroyed and in the distance you could still hear the gunfire where in his ear he could hear squads pushing back the locusts and keeping the rigs safe.

"This is Baker 4 to Control. Do we proceed with grindlift operation or help the secure the rigs?" Jacob said into his mic, he wasn't sure what to do and there wasn't much room for gun ho command anymore, not when it was just him and Jase.

"Control to Baker 4, proceed with grindlift, we have reserve units moving into the help secure the area. Your orders are to re-group with any other COG units and then proceed from their. Any new orders will be passed along when I get them." the woman said. It was Anya Stroud. The best damn Controller in the COG but she had a thing for Delta and rumors were that it was for that damn hero of a Sergeant Fenix.

"Ok boys, the lifts are ready for takeoff. Ready when you are!" Mikael shouted from the cab

"Ok, mounting up now." Jacob replied and stepped into the cramped grindlift.

Jacob was a big enough guy but the armour made you about twice your size especially in cramped conditions like a grindlift. But there wasn't time to complain as the door closed and the lift quickly descended through the earth. The ride was bumpy as hell but it was to be expected but after a few minutes of travelling the bumpiness stopped, the feeling of being suspended in mid air took over and it was both amazing and terrifying but it was soon ended when with a bone jarring force the lift hit the ground and doors busted down to reveal a smoke and dirt filled few of what was the locust home, The hollows.

"Watch your back Jase, the grubs could come from anywhere." Jacob said quietly over the com-net. The hollows were an odd creation, neither natural nor unnatural in a sense. The grubs used corpsers and other kinds of freakish creations to tunnel around the underground and then came up to the ground to attack the COG. Weird fungal growths covered the roof of the hollows and odd types of flora were spread out around the place but although it all seemed unnatural it was quickly made into a natural battleground when the sound of bullets whizzed past Jacobs face.

"Get down! Grubs!" he shouted to Jase who had already hit the ground before he finished his words. The locust horde was an ugly and bestial and savagely terrifying enemy but they were not stupid. They had outsmarted many a good gear and had exacted a heavy cost on the Human race; this was an enemy who you didn't take lightly.

Drones were running down from a entrance further up the path they had landed on, shooting down towards the 2 stranded gears. Jacob checked his lancer and toggled off the safety and with a roar on his lips he started firing back up the path. With no cover to hide in the locust were taking some of the incoming fire but it would take more than 1 or 2 bullets to bring down the grubs. The closet grub lost his head in a puff of blood and gun smoke and Jacob knew that Jase had brought the longshot to bear and with that kind of advantage the grubs broke off from the savage blood lust run towards the gears and took cover behind the rocks that fell from the roof.

The quick start to the battle quickly turned into a sluggish pot shot match. The grubs would pop out every so often to take a few shots Jacob would send a burst of lancer bullets towards them, while Jase was slow and steady waiting on the perfect shots. But this situation could get worse any time soon.

"This is Baker 4 to any other units. Please respond!" Jacob shouted into the com-bead.

There didn't seem to be any kind of response thus far. The battle dragged on for another 5 minutes, Jase dropping one or two more grubs but from the last count there was 6 left and didn't seem to be breaking from their cover any time soon.

"Baker 4, this is Fox 2 moving into assist. ETA…4 minutes" A voice crackled in his com-bead and it put the fight back into Jacob.

"Roger that Fox 2, we have them suppressed for now but I think they are starting to get a bit tired of waiting for us to break cover." He replied. No point in letting them runs into a situation without some kind of knowledge. As they said it was what you didn't know that killed you.

The bullets whizzed from either side but none making any significant damage to their enemies but it was enough to keep the heads down. The Locust knew how fast the Lancer could pump rounds and how devastating it could be to take a few in the chest or head but their own guns dubbed the "hammerburst" could take a gears head off with 1 well placed shot.

The grubs had never seen the flank coming. Fox 2 came out of the entrance they had emerged from and started unloading an ear bursting hail of fire into their backs. One fell, then another, then another and quickly the odds were in the Gears favor but that never stopped the locust when their blood was up. Turning to face Fox 2, Jacob broke from his cover with the chainsaw revving and the smoke belching and flipping the lancer's grip to face upside down he lodged the chainsaw into the lower spine and brought the saw through his body spraying blood and guts and other shit he didn't want to know about and finally bringing the saw out through the shoulder.

Jase had produced his Pistol, one of the big heavy boltok 6 shooters and emptied 6 shots into the backs of the remaining grubs. And with that the skirmish came to a suddenly quiet close. It always did and that was the terrifying part, you never knew if they were dead or just pretending. They said about a good 20% of ammo used against the locust is finishing off the half dead ones on the ground.

"Jacob, good to see you made it. Where is the rest of your squad?" Fox leader asked, it was an old friend Gerry. In his days before the war Gerry was a chef in a fancy restaurant in Ephyra but when the restaurant business dried up after E-Day he decided instead of cooking sloppy meals for a living he would put his hand to soldiering and with his experience running a tense kitchen he became a natural fire up your butt leader.

Jacob walked up to him and grabbed Gerry's outstretched hand with both of his and shook it then slapped him on the back. "It's been too long Gerry. I lost a man before we used the lift and we didn't receive any more replacements since we lost Connor, so it's me and Jase." He pointed at Jase who stood looking around with that Snipers eye.

Gerry was about 2 inches taller and a bit bulkier than Jacob but from a distance a lot of people got them confused so Jacob decided to grow a goatee to be the "distinguished one".

"Well my orders were to regroup with any other Squads and assist and who better to assist than yourself. Let's get moving guys!" Jacob said with more vigor.

Jacob was glad it was Gerry from Fox 2. He knew him for a long time and it was good to serve alongside somebody with a great deal of experience. He dreaded having to run into Delta 1. Marcus Fenix was a pendulum wars hero and there was no doubt denying it, he had a record as long as your arm and the scars to prove it, but Jacob had a few run ins with that jerk Damon Baird and the less time he had to spend near him the better.

"Our orders are to move out and secure a beachhead near…" Gerry said looking at his map and then pointing to a set of co-ordinates "here. I think were about here so it shouldn't be that long a hike if we don't get bogged down in the thick stuff." He said cheerfully. That attitude wouldn't last long and both Jacob and Gerry knew it, but there was no point in being totally grumpy and walking about with a stick in your arse all the time.

Setting off at a jog they covered the ground quickly without drawing too much attention to themselves. The Hollows were creepy as hell and the sounds of echoing battles could be heard in every direction for kilometers around. This was the biggest offensive since the Pendulum Wars, this was it, do or die moment for Humanity and every fit and able Gear was deployed in an effort to end this thing before we run out of food, water, people or whatever the hell the locust were gonna destroy on their path to victory.

"Jake, I got a bad feeling something's following us. I don't know but it's like I feel some grub just burrowing its eyes into me." Jase said quietly to Jacob. Jase was a born sniper and had excelled with the Longshot and had the snipers senses to go with it, Jacob knew he wasn't lying.

Using his com-bead he whispered "Everybody spread out and take cover. Possible enemy…" he never got to finish the sentence when a shot snapped out of the wall and with a puff of blood one of Gerry's men went down.

"God damn it! Snipers! Everybody get down!" Gerry shouted and Jase crawled into cover and brought his longshot to bear, scanning the walls and paths for any kind of shooter. To their left was an alcove in the wall where 3 grubs were standing, one with a sniper and 2 with what seemed to be Hammerbursts.

"Spotted them and taking them out." Jase reported in that spine chilling calmness under fire. The Longshot rattled in his hands a in the distance another puff of blood and brain chunks could be seen drifting in the space where the snipers head was. Reloading with unnatural speed he slammed home another round and with another shot dropped another shooter and not waiting around to take the third the other ran off.

"We can't stay here. Let's get moving on before more shooters come back. Double time it men!" Gerry shouted in to the tac-com and with that everybody started to run down the long narrow path towards the objective but keeping as low a profile as possible. It was hard enough running with all the damn armour on but keeping low made it even more straining but Gears were fit men and trained to deal with such strain. The Armour was there to protect them from the incoming fire but their training helped them deal with everything else as they said in basic.

"We should only be 2 minutes away from the objective, just keep pumping your legs" Gerry said again to encourage the men and push them a little beyond their limits. Putting the thought of marginal safety into their minds made them work all the harder and even Jacob was pushing himself harder than before when he heard them words. Then the objective appeared. A large open room with all the usual hollow shit in it but instead of grubs there was another squad of gears here moving piles of rubble and rocks into some kind of cover.

"This is Baker 4 and Fox 2 reporting in Command, were at our objective and awaiting further orders, over." Gerry said into his bead, panting from straining himself on the run from the action to the objective.

"This is Control; grindlifts should be appearing over your heads in about 10 minutes, just secure the area for their safe arrival. Over." The mans voice said

"Thanks Anthony, Fox 2 out." Gerry said with a smile, breaking the professionalism that was there prior to the last sentence.

The area around them was soon becoming a defendable area against the Locust in their own heartlands. The grindlifts were throwing them off because they could land anywhere in the hollow and deploy the Gears into backyard and kick their asses. It was like payback for all the times they popped up from out of nowhere and killed too many good men and women.

Jacob was lost in his thoughts. The day he lost Anna all those years ago on E-Day, he hadn't got the chance to say sorry and patch things up. He was remembering all the nightmarish thoughts that had raced through his mind all those years and tried to shut them out but when he started the waterfall that was these thoughts it was very hard to stop and although he had seen more blood and guts than any man should have seen, them thoughts tore him apart like razor hail.

But his train of thought was broken quickly when the voices started shouting in his ear. The Grubs had turned up to the party and forgot their invitations and now it was time to show them the door, the hard way!

The Lancer was up and aimed in seconds and he started firing long streams of hot lead towards the locust that were attacking from a large balcony above their position. They had the height advantage but apart from snipers and theron guard most locust were lousy shots compared to a trained and experienced Gear. But they tried their best and the odd shot was clipping their armour but nothing serious.

Jase again brought the Longshot into effect with devastating consequences for the grubs and heads started popping off like fireworks at new years. But it wasn't enough to make any serious dent in the numbers, for every damn one that died another was in his place to add more fire to the storm of bullets whizzing back and forth with deadly force.

"Fuck me! They just don't give up" one of Gerry's men shouted before a shot took his head from his shoulders and the gore covered the ground behind him in a messy mosaic of brain matter and skull. Gerry took losses tough and started going through his clips a bit too fast and was wasting ammo but this wasn't the time or place to say. The grindlifts would be down any time soon and the locust didn't seem to be weakening. Jase then spotted something in the crowd of ugly monstrous faces, a god damn Kantus! These freaks were like commanders in a sense but they could stir the locust to a damn frenzy when they wanted to. They were dangerous too with them damn Ink grenades.

Jase took aim and shot but the Kantus moved just before it connected but the shot still hit something in the thick mass of grubs that were shooting them. Jacob was wishing now that they had a god damn troika or something that could just pulverize these damn drones and end this shit.

Gerry stopped firing and turned to Jacob with a look on his face that said a stupid plan was coming. Gerry was as hard as nails and took no shit from his men but he was prone to a risky plan if it meant winning the battle and Jacob had seen that face a few times before when they were in a scrape like this.

"Just keep them busy, I have a cunning plan!" he said and started prepping his frag grenades. Oh no!

"You're not doing it Gerry! It's too damn risky. There's about 10 meters of open ground between you and a decent throw you would never make it! Don't do it!" Jacob was shouting over the din of fire but that wouldn't have mattered if it was silence, the idea was just outrageous and he was gonna get killed.

"I won't get killed if you're covering me though. So do your job right and well have a few beers when we get back topside." He said and put his lancer down and broke from the cover. The fire rate from the Gears doubled as Gerry made the run across the open ground. Gerry was swinging two grenades in his hands and as he made it to the right distances he launched them as hard as he could and turned around not even looking to see if they made it or not. The boom from the grenades was deafening in the Hollow but it did the job. Grubs were dropping to the floor below like rain but still a few remained and were pumping hot lead and one or two tried to hit Gerry but he was simply too fast for them.

Jacob watched Gerry run back towards the cover with a smile on his face like he knew the plan was going to work from the very beginning because of his faith in the Gears, but that victory was short lived. Like a slow motion replay Jacob seen the bright blooming light cross the room in his peripheral vision and smack Gerry right in the chest. With a look of complete horror he grabbed the bow in his chest with both hands trying to remove it but it was wedged into the armour like a sword in stone and a second later there was bloody scraps of what used to be one of the best damn sergeants left in the COG all across the floor.

Jacob was horrified by the scene, he didn't believe it at all and broke from the cover to help him and thought the rational part of him knew he was dead the hope was still in him that the armour took the brunt and that he was still alive. But the closer he got the more unrecognizable the body became. Tears came to his eyes as he looked at the body, or what was left of it, lying on the ground. The head was still intact and around its neck was a set of COG tags that every Gear wore. Taking it from his neck he placed them into a pocket in his uniform and reality came back to him.

The bullets were chewing up the ground around him and a voice in his ear was shouting at him to take cover. He turned and bolted and still his eyes were welling up with tears at the loss of such a dear friend and comrade. But the battle was over for now, the last few grubs either dead or dying or running away from the scene of their defeat and with remarkable timing the Grindlifts started to fall from the roof all around them and more Gears were deploying and setting up a defendable position for some of the high rollers to take over the operation from the front.

Now Operation Hollow Storm was kicking off but already Jacob had had enough of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Act 2

The ground shuddered with the impacts of falling grindlifts and a thick cloud of dust was beginning to form all around the cavern from the impacts. The hissing of doors opening and the clanging of heavy boots on the metal was all the notice Jacob needed for the arrival of more gears.

"Thank God for these reinforcements, we could have been proper fucked without them" one of Gerry's men said. Nobody was sure what to do with his 3 remaining men. It hadn't been reported in yet about his death and securing the area was a priority over that, when more gears were on the ground he would have time to do it.

Bursts of gunfire were still echoing all around the Hollow and the odd thumping sound and quake of the ground of grindlifts descending in other parts of the Hollow could be heard. Hollow Storm seemed to be working so far. The Gears were making down in good numbers and seemed to be having the Locust on the back foot for the first time in a while. The Lightmass bomb had done a mighty good job but them grubs just came back twice as hard.

A man and by the look of the insignia seemed to be a Lieutenant, was walking over to Jacob and what was left of Baker 4 and Fox 2. He was about 4 inches taller than Jacob and had a long mane of black hair and a face of stone. Most Gears had a face that made a mother wince after a while but this guy just looked like he had a personal vendetta with every damn locust and had exacted a bloody toll. His stride was long and in his black armour seemed huge and menacing.

"Lieutenant Peter Stampton taking over command here and you are?" he said in that pompous and arrogant manner of somebody who knew their place was above the common grunt and it irked Jacob.

"Sergeant Jacob Wyler of Baker 4 sir" He replied crisply and snapped off a quick and prompt salute. "The area is secure sir, we are just after repelling a locust force from up there" he pointed "and I estimated their strength to be about 30 to 40 but we dealt with most of them and about only 5 or 6 managed to escape but Fox 2 lost their Sergeant in the process and I haven't had time to radio that to command." He reported briskly, just wanting to leave this jerks presence.

"Well done sergeant." Stampton said and just turned on his heel and walked off. What a jerk. It was guys like this who needed a good boot up their ass. The pendulum wars was the day of this kind of officer but now was the time for solid and dependable leaders like Sergeant Fenix and Delta Squad and even the leader of this rabble you could call an army, Colonel Victor Hoffman.

"Command this is Baker 4 reporting in. Grindlifts are down and area is secure. But we lost Fox 2 leader and 1 of his gears, Awaiting orders." Jacob reported as calmly as he could. He was still torn up about Gerry's death. There wasn't a god damn thing he could have done to save him but it still tore at him that he sat and watched him die trying to save everybody but then again that was how he would have wanted it. To be remembered as a hero to the men he served with and to set an example of what kind of sacrifice had to be made.

"This is Command Baker 4. Seeing as Fox 2 has 3 non-com Gears I'm now assigning them to your Squad command until further notice." Anthony said calmly and then followed "I'm sorry to hear about Gerry. He was a damn good friend and an even better soldier but he would have wanted you to lead in this situation. So kill a few for me Sarge" he said and then cut out.

Jacob walked over to the crowd that was now the new Baker 4. He didn't know any of them or how they worked but he would have to learn quickly. They seemed like a decent bunch of guys and from what he seen well drilled and ready for more killing.

"Ok listen up. You guys are now part of Baker 4. I'm Sergeant Jacob Wyler and this is Corporal Jase Cherry. I don't expect you guys to just forget you were part of Fox 2 but for now until I get the word your gonna be part of Baker 4 but no doubt if you guys work hard and show the initiative you could end up running your own damn squads." He said with a chuckle and the rest chuckled too.

"Some stick-arsed Lieutenant named Stampton is running things around here for now so I guess he has the order sheet. So just form up and get ready to move out in about 5." He said and then turned to talk to the stick-arse.

Walking towards the towering block of pompousness that was this Lieutenant he took a deep breathe and began. "Sorry to interrupt sir but I have my squad formed up and ready to deploy. Do you have our orders or will I have to contact command?" Jacob said in as nice a possible way as he could to somebody so nasty

"Well Sergeant, we are deploying a sonic resonator to map out the immediate area. But since you are ready, take a pick of any of the tunnels you can find and start killing some damn Locust. Are we clear?" he said and again, turned his back on Jacob like he wasn't even there in the same space as him. Pure upper class blue blooded bastard he thought. Probably bought his damn commission before E-Day and nobody seen any sense to demote this guy to cannon fodder.

Walking towards his squad he motioned with his lancer to ready up and follow. It was these kinds of actions that real squads understood, not everything had to be said to be understood.

One of the new squad turned to Jacob and with the cold glare of the UV lamps in his helmet said with a deep voice said "Where we going Sarge?" with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Don't worry soldier, were going to scout out the tunnels and report back to the beachhead if we run into any contact. From what I'm piecing together were going to try and find some grubs and when we do, we bring down more Gears to help eliminate the bastards. Doesn't sound like a half bad idea does it?" Jacob said trying to soothe the fears of the Gears. In actuality he had no idea what the plan was but there was no point in telling them that.

The first thing to learn about squad command was that morale was very important. You could train and drill a man forever but if he met the enemy and had no morale to stand up and take the fight to them, they were as good as dead meat.

They continued in silence. The grubs could be anywhere down here and they had started paying the price in blood for their over confidence. Hopefully they didn't lose too many Gears of they were doomed to die in this god forsaken hell hole that was the Hollows. There hadn't really ever been any kind of surveying of the Hollows before the war as far as he knew. If the big energy companies found a big pool of Imulsion then that was as far as they went but there was the children's spook story that monsters from underground would come up to scare bad children but nobody ever expected it to happen!

Leaving the tight confines of a tunnel they emerged onto a naturally formed gangway inside what was probably the largest space he could have ever seen. It might have stunk like hell and was twice as warm but the Hollow was so immense it was hard to comprehend. Below the gangway was enough Imulsion to fuel the COG from now to the next millennium and the damn grubs were keeping them from having it.

As far as he could tell apart from the odd thing the Grubs never actually used the Imulsion but why was beyond him or any of the big wigs back in Jacinto. For as much as the COG knew how to kill them they didn't know that much about their enemy except they were hell bent on killing every human left on Sera.

"Damn, that's one hell of a lot of Imulsion. If we win this damn war I want to call dibs on that lake." Said one of the new squad mates who Jacob found was called Victor Henson. He was a big guy about 6'3 and built like a tank and the only person who could make this guy seem small was the Cole Train. The new amalgamation seemed to be going quite smoothly but then again nobody had really been saying much but Jacob doubted that he was going to get much trouble from them and pretty much everybody kept their distance from the cold and methodical Jase.

"Well you will bloody earn it _when_ we win!" Jacob emphasized then when because he had complete faith in the Human race to prevail where others might think they were doomed. The human race was more resilient than you thought. Through years of constant combat they had become quite the warrior race and knew how to fight, some people thought that was all we knew. That every new invention and leap in technology ultimately led to a fight over who got to control it and what purpose it could be used to fight somebody else.

But enough with the philosophy debate he thought to himself, Deep inside enemy territory with the chance of being killed at any moment and here he was having a philosophical debate about the human race. He steeled himself and cursed himself at the same time and continued to march on in silence.

The constant echo of Gunfire had become a background noise to Jacob but he knew then and there that there was a fight up ahead and he had to get into it, to keep himself sharp and also to see if he could help somehow.

"Ok, lets double time it guys. There's a fight up ahead and we gotta join the party!" he said to the Squad and started breaking into a run. The big chunky boots made a sprint hard but he couldn't waste time when people's lives were on the line.

The fight was about 500 meters down the gangway inside another enclosed tunnel space as far as he could tell and pushing himself to his physical limits he was closing in on the target and the din of combat becoming louder and louder with every footstep. In the rising smoke of the combat he could just about pick out a grindlift and a couple of Gears ahead taking the fight to the oncoming waves of drones and wretches. Jacob could spend all day killing drones but it was the damn wretches that got to him. They could climb anywhere and drop on top of you and rip your face to shreds if you weren't careful. Pushing the com-bead he broadcast his presence to the Gears.

"This is Baker 4 moving in from your rear to support. Over" He shouted and instantly a voice responded

"This is Gamma 2, glad to see you guys. Get your asses up here quick!" he shouted and then abruptly cut off. This was a battle that was coming down to the wire it seemed. They were probably running short on Ammo and the locust gaining ground with every second. Jase put the longshot onto the magnetic holster on his back and took a grip of his Gnasher shotgun. Jacob slid into the cover provided by the grindlift. It seemed that since it wasn't going back up topside that Gamma 2 had heaved it onto its side to use as cover. Smart thinking he thought, that's what real commanders are made of!

With a roar on his lips Jacob and his squad started unleashing punishing hails of fire into the wave of grubs and the battle quickly turned in the Gears favor. The wretches dropped and twitched were they were killed and the grubs were charging on mass into the wall of bullets and buckshot coming at them. Gamma leader was down to using his Snub pistol, his lancer probably out of ammo and he didn't seem to be carrying anything else with him.

After a few minutes of intense battle and bloodshed it went eerily quiet and that always unsettled you. The quiet part was where your fears rose to the front of your mind. The fear, paranoia and constant feeling that you could die any time and that was the hardest part for any soldier but it came with the job.

"Ok Gamma, make your way back from where we came, there is a beachhead settling down about 2 kliks from here and they probably have some ammo for your guns. We are going to move on from here." Jacob told them quickly as he reloaded his lancer and made ready to keep moving. The rest of Baker 4 were moving out as well and in his com-bead he heard the voice of Gamma leader say his thanks and again the silence was there, only broken by the soft crunching sound of boots hitting the dusty floor.

Walking along the long winding paths of the Hollow Jacob and Jase leading from the front while the rest of the Squad were covering the rear of their column, Jase quietly turned to him and said "Have you noticed that since we have got down here we have only seen Drones and wretches and maybe that 1 Kantus and Theron Guard? Ok maybe the last 2 are a bit of a rarity topside but I haven't seen a single boomer or grinder or even a Brumak. Not like I'm looking to fight a Brumak, but come on! Were in the Hollows for god sake, their back yard and not a single big bad guy? They must be waiting for us deeper inside now that they know we can penetrate this far in."

"I have noticed that already but I'm just hoping that the forward Squads such as Delta and Alpha have taken most of them damn bastards down and all were down here for is a clean up. But your just itching for a big fight ain't ya buddy?" Jacob replied with a bit of a laugh. He was hoping the hypothesis was right and most of the grubs were just starting to cool off now in piles deep of their own dead but that was wishful thinking for a Gear.

About 400 meters in front of them was another opening to a tunnel but there wasn't much light emanating from the mouth of it. It gave Jacob the spooks and he waved his hand for everybody to fan out and find cover. This seemed like as good a place as any for the Locust to get the drop on you he thought to himself.

Jacob and Jase took the liberty of moving forward towards the opening and he radioed to Victor "Ok, were going to move in and see what we can find around the opening, keep an eye out for any surprises while were in there." Jacob asked quietly over the radio

"No problem Sarge, Henson out." The deep booming voice came back over the radio.

Creeping slowly down the path into the all consuming darkness Jacob was searching for any sign of trouble but he couldn't even see the end of his gun in the darkness let alone any enemies. "No contact as of yet…" he said into the open channel of his com-bead. Swinging the lancer from side to side he was on the edge waiting for something bad to happen.

The gloom seemed to be dissipating but still he was on edge and some light was beginning to sting his eyes but he still kept looking around expecting at any moment for the grubs to make their move and kill him and Jase. "Ok, move up, were on the other side of the dark patch." He radioed back. Still scanning frantically he wouldn't be happy until they were all back together as a unit. Strength lay in numbers when it came to dealing with the Locust.

The clanging of the boots was emanating from the darkness and after a few seconds the faces and helmets of the rest of Baker 4 were back into the light. Jacob couldn't understand why it was so dark but it really bugged him. Maybe it was thinking back to pre-Timgad times when the darkness meant Kryll and practically instant death. Now the Lightmass bomb had destroyed the Kryll the darkness wasn't as big a threat as it once was.

Jacob's heart was still pounding inside his chest and a sudden burst of a voice in his ear nearly put him over the edge. It was coming from command this time.

"Baker 4 leader, this is Command. We have reports of a major firefight about…3 kliks from your position. Our Gears need immediate assistance." The voice radioed, it was Anthony again. He must still be on duty after this long. No doubt all the operators were running crazy shifts now. This was the single biggest operation launched by the COG in years and with such a small population people had to make some sacrifices like sleep.

"Roger that control tell them we shall be with them as quick as possible." He said and with a wave of his hand he pointed down the next long gangway and started to run. _Another day, another battle_ he said to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Act 3

Emerging into the enormous cavern that was this battle ground, it made the last one look like a tiny closet. There were all the big guns out now for the locust. There were a couple of Brumaks on the battlefield and entire battalions of drones and wretches and snipers and boomers and therons. This was one of the most colossal battles ever in COG history and now it was time to join the fight.

"For the COG" Jacob roared and began to sprint down the steps towards destiny. Then he thought to himself…_steps?_ The grubs had actually formed steps down to this battlefield like they had planned for this kind of contingency. Like they knew we would be here sometime.

Moving into a line formation Baker 4 joined the battle and threw themselves hard into the killing. Shotguns were shredding drones and wretches to pieces and lancers were pumping out hundreds of thousands of bullets and eviscerating anything that got in their way. A couple of troika machine guns had been hastily deployed by the Gears and were making their mark in the grubs. The Brumaks though were launching punishing salvos of missiles and in the corner of his eye Jacob seen handfuls of Gears being tossed into the air like confetti.

"Take down the big ones and see can we scavenge some boomers. We need to get them Brumaks off the field before they kill us all." Jacob shouted to the men around him. There was more than just Baker 4 in his field of command and nobody seemed to disagree with him either. Concentrating their fire on the boomers to their right they had expended some amount of clips taking them down but the numbers didn't seem to thin out that much to make the dash for their guns.

"Grenades!" he shouted while unclipping one from his belt and stood to make the throw. The bolo grenades were great for long distance throwing because of the handle that could let you throw them some distance. The grenade left his hand a few others had thrown as well and in 2 seconds a crump of explosions had thrown drones around like a bull in a china shop and without a word Jacob, Victor and another member of Baker 4 bounded over their cover and made for the boomshots.

Pumping their legs they covered the distance and jumped into cover before a loud shout confirmed their worst fears. "Were pinned down by a grinder! Fuck!" he shouted at himself. They couldn't move now and trying to fire at it would be near suicide.

"I got a shot on that grinder. 2 seconds Jake." Jase said and the radio went dead.

The grinder was in mid shout, the deep booming sound of its war cry cut short when its head turned to a fine mist of blood and brain matter.

"Thanks were moving out again…" Jacob said and sprinted from the tiny chunk of cover that was left from the grinders devastating barrage of bullets. The boomshots were in sight and sliding across the floor he grabbed one and searched around for more shots. The boomers were heavier than a truck and twice as dangerous so moving their bodies was a chore, but Jacob and the two others managed to find 6 spare shots before making the run back to their lines. No man's land was as dangerous as the enemy lines because it meant you could be shot in the back running back to safety or caught in the crossfire of your men trying to save your ass. The Gears were good shots but accidents do happen.

Jacob mantled over the cover and with a heavy thud hit the floor with a big boomshot in his hands. "Ok, lets party" he said as he looked at Jase with a smile on his face. There were Brumaks to their left, about 400 meters away but the effective range of a boomshot was about 30 to 40 meters.

"Ok, I'm going with Victor and…" he looked at the other man but didn't know his name yet, which embarrassed Jacob slightly.

"Rikki sir, Private Adam Rikki." The helmet said back to him with a shake of its head.

"Ok, Rikki show me what you can do with that thing. Were moving down the line to hit these damn Brumaks. Jase you're in charge 'til I get back. Let's move out!" Jacob said and began to roadie run down the line of sandbags and natural rock formations that provided cover for the Gears.

The sound of battle was loud but not deafeningly loud as such. The room was so big that the sound was enveloped by the walls and roof and sent back as a tiny echo. It was a weird effect that he hadn't experienced before and that was another thing on the list of _things in the Hollow that bug me_ he was compiling in his head.

The Brumaks were still punishing the Gears but the sheer volume of fire had taken one of the damn beasts down but the grubs were still moving up fast, even clambering over the body to reach the frontlines to rip apart and eat the hearts of their aggressors. Shrieks and roars and other bestial sounds were preceding the bullets and missiles coming from the Locust and it would scare a man just as much as the bullet. Grubs didn't just kill for victory but for the sheer love of it. They relished in the bloodshed and probably had been bred to love killing. What sick fucking creatures Jacob thought to himself.

"Ok, hit the big things on their arms. They're like super troikas or something and can rip a man to shreds in seconds. I'll go for the missile launcher on top." He said to Victor and Rikki. He was taking the harder shot because he felt he had to inspire the men around him with some kind of heroic feat. Rikki seemed young to him somehow, like he wasn't a veteran Gear like him or Victor and he and would still need battlefield blooding.

Taking aim with the boomshots they counted down from 3 and fired at their targets all at once. Victor scored a hit and a massive explosion erupted from the left gun and chunks of metal and shrapnel came from the ruined arm and a roar came from the beast's mouth. The Missile launcher took the next hit and when the white hot flash of the explosion cleared his sight the smoking ruins of the launcher showed another successful hit. Rikki though missed his shot completely and Jacob shook his head in disappointment.

"You gotta compensate for the drop of the rocket. Aim a good bit over the target and try again!" he shouted over the din of combat at the young private. Rikki raised his boomshot again loading in another cumbersome rocket but while he was taking aim the Brumak started to move around like a crazy horse thrashing out it limbs and smashing aside Gears and grubs alike but it needed putting down. Rikki bounded out of his cover into the middle of open ground trying to make his shot

"Get back here private! Your gonna get yourself killed!" Jacob shouted as he made to reach the young and reckless Rikki. He shouted back something about having the perfect shot and still Jacob was trying to save him. The Brumak was still thrashing around and stomping its tank sized hands into the ground in a savage attempt to unleash the fury brought on by the crippling pain. Rikki's boomshot kicked in his hands and in slow motion Jacob seen the horrifying action in slow motion.

The boomshot travelled in a perfect arc towards the gun mount and no matter where the brumak moved it would take the full brunt of this attack but what Rikki didn't see was the brumaks hand raising above him and coming down in a savage blow that crushed Rikki inside his armour and sprayed blood in wide gruesome arcs across the ground like somebody standing on a tin can of red paint. That's what it reminded Jacob of it was so brutal but he could hardly believe himself.

"Rikki! NO!" he shouted but the Brumak was in its death throes and crashed to the ground on top of the corpse of what was Private Adam Rikki of Baker 4. "God Damnit no!" Jacob sighed to himself as the crushing reality of the situation was dawning on him. The com-net was alive with whoops and cheers as the second Brumak came crashing down and voices were asking who took it down and across the battlefield the name of Jacob Wyler was being hailed as a hero of the COG.

"Sergeant Wyler? Sarge?" a voice was beside him shaking him out of reprieve and when he came to it was Victor trying to get him to move out of the way for more squads to push forwards. The COG were charging forwards, ever deeper into the grubs and taking the fight to them any way they could. Scorchers and Grinders were spitting hail and brimstone at the monsters from the deep like in the old myths he had heard as a child.

"Ok, lets regroup with the rest of Baker 4 and keep moving up." he said sourly and Victor could see the distraction in his eyes, probably running the sight of that young private getting killed and all the other things that run through your mind when something like that happens.

"Jake, don't do it man. You can't change anything now and we need you to lead us man! So just keep it together until we get back topside and then you can grieve all you want." he said as sympathetically as he could to his Squad leader.

"Yeah, your right. Let's keep moving though ok?" he said and broke into a sprint. The war was still here and while it was he had a job to do and he wouldn't stop until they were dead or he was dead now.

The two stragglers rejoined their squad at the right flank of the attack and started to push on into the locust lines. The fighting was fierce and bloody, so much blood and ichor was spilt that the ground was slick and people were losing their footing and slipping in the blood. Taking any chance necessary openings they could get the Gears and Locust were reaping a bloody toll on each other with their chainsaw bayonets and gun butts and even their bare fists when it was necessary.

Jacob was getting stuck in with the thick of fighting, ripping through the tough armour like skin of a drone with his chainsaw bayonet, the blood and guts splashing his armour and clogging the mechanisms of his bayonet. It was tough work taking down the grubs in close combat, they were hardy foes and very resilient against pain so it was very precise killing from the Gears, taking them down and out as quick as possible but some of the younger Gears were being ripped to shreds by packs of raving wretches.

This wasn't going to last too much longer in the COG favor so Jacob had the idea of having Gears from behind to lob grenades in to break up the Locust squads so the COG could fall back into cover, bring the guns to bear rather than get up close and personal. The idea was working well and let the COG's superior tactics to come into play. Jacob and Baker 4 made it back to cover and started laying down suppression fire to cover the others working their way back to the safety of the rocks and crumbling pylons all around the battlefield.

"Keep it pouring boys!" Victor said as he loaded another clip into his blood red lancer and popping his head back up to fire more death at the enemy. The Locust were holding their ground as well, not trying to counter attack like any enemy would have tried to do by now. But then again over 14 odd years of fighting these monsters the tactical books were heavy rewritten from the standards during the Pendulum Wars.

A high pitch screaming sound came from the darkness behind the locust lines, but the sound was really loud compared to the rest of the battle taking place and then the sound became a vision and it was a vision of horror. The flying forms of reavers bobbing and weaving through the air in a search for prey. Gunners on the back started opening fire from reavers and punishing hails of rockets and bullets were striking from above and Gears were dying.

"This is Lieutenant Harper, everybody start falling back. We can't hold this line with those damn AGH!!!" he was suddenly cut off the link as bullets ripped into his body.

"This is Sergeant Wyler! You heard the Lieutenant keep moving back!" Jacob said into his microphone trying to encourage the men to follow the order instead of dwelling on the fact that it was more than likely Harper was dead where he lay.

The Gears fell back in quick order but the reavers kept swooping and some even landing to punish the Gears for being on their turf. Some rear line units moved in with the heavy guns and started to reap a toll on the reavers but with dozens of them it was too little to make an instant effect to their devastating attack. The drones and wretches and even some therons started to charge now and slayed many a retreating Gear, showing no remorse to those fleeing. It was disgusting in Jacobs's opinion, _No man should die like that, to be cut down while trying to run_ and this thought fuelled his anger and bullets rang out from his gun in a stream of random fire that caught a few grubs in the head and stopping their butchery.

"Fucking grubs! Fuck you!" a trooper said before his head snapped suddenly to the right and looking at his face a massive wound replaced where most of his face used to be. The grubs were not letting up and charging towards Baker 4 was a group of about 20 locusts led by a Kantus who let out a high pitched squeal and the grubs kept pouring fire at the gears. _We can't hold the line here!_ Jacob thought to himself and he waved everybody to start moving back. Jacob kept firing along with Jase and Victor to cover the retreat and they were just about holding at this rate of attrition. Nobody seen it when a smoke grenade landed beside them and with a bang the concussive force knocked all 3 Gears to the ground with a heavy thud. _Fuck! No! This can't be happening…_Jacob thought to himself before unconsciousness took over his prone body.


	4. Chapter 4

Act 4

Images flashed in his mind, being dragged along the rocky floor, then a hand covered in blood and the last one was some kind of bestial monster looking down at him with what seemed to be a smile on its ugly face. After that it was nothing but darkness and the wild unconscious thoughts that always went through his head when he got a chance to sleep.

Waking up Jacobs head was thumping like somebody was hitting him with a jackhammer and opening his eyes he looked around to establish himself with where he was. It was eerily dark with only a few light sources burning to illuminate the area. He was inside some kind of pod similar to a grindlift but it was so small he just about fitted inside the thing. There was a small slit around head height where he could peer out at the world around him but all he could see were pods probably similar to his own and periodically a drone or two would walk by and thump the pods where people were screaming for their freedom.

_Is this how it ends for me?_ Jacob kept thinking to himself _stuck inside some damn cage while the grubs pick us off at their leisure_. There had been rumors going round on the tac-com about grubs taking prisoners and a few gears had stumbled upon some survivors but most of them were broken figures of what they once were. _What do they need prisoners for?_

"Jacob? You there?" said once of the screaming voices from the pods surrounding him. The echo threw him off but he realized it was Jase. "Jase…that you?" he shouted back his own voice nearly deafening him in the confines of the cages.

"Yeah, it's me. I can't believe they take prisoners." Jase said echoing Jacobs own thoughts as well. "Well hopefully we won't be staying too long." Came another voice and it was Victor. Jacob felt cramped inside the cage himself so Victor must be bursting out of the cage he thought.

Drones appeared in Jacob's vision but instead of passing on they stopped and pushed some kind of buttons that released the 3 gears and nobody else. In some kind of deformed tongue one of the drones shouted something and the other laughed and turned to Jacob.

"Ground walkers!" it said in the bastardized tongue Jacob spoke and with a swift movement punched Jacob in the gut and he doubled over in pain, Victor made a move to hit the drone but the 2nd raised the chunky boltok pistol and pointed at Victor, screaming some kind of command and Victor froze and stood back from it.

"You come with us! NOW!" it roared and the leader moved off while the 2nd took position behind them and they moved off in silence. Jacob kept pace with the lead drone and while walking thought of some way to spring out of this prison but every idea ended up with about 50 grubs surrounding them and ripping them to shreds so he just kept walking on hoping some kind of opening would show itself. Walking through the prison there was hundreds if not thousands of the pods with prisoners stuffed inside. Most of them we probably stranded who got picked off in the night but there were some reports before this of civilians inside the fortified zones going missing without a trace and nobody who was under COG protection would leave to join the stranded, that would have been insane!

Although they had no guns or microphones they still had their armour on which seemed to show some kind of thought process of the grubs but what it was Jacob had no idea he thought _that's for the big wigs back in Jacinto to find out_. Coming round a corner the lead drone pointed to a big barred cage with a few other people in it, most of them looked so disheveled that they were clearly stranded and grunted some kind of order which they took as _get in there before I kill you!_ And nobody seemed to argue with it, though looking back at Victor he was bursting to kill one of the guards.

With a push in the back they stumbled into the group and the door slammed closed with a heavy thud that rang in his ears. Most of the group seemed to be mentally dead inside their vacant eyes just looking at the Gears but one or two looked at them with disgust, ready to shout some kind of anti-COG slogan they always spouted near Gears.

"Fresh meat to the grinder I see." said one man who must have been about 40 or 45, with a haggard beard hanging from his face and a baseball cap on his head worn by years of wear. One of his eyes was missing and an eye patch was in place to cover the scar tissue underneath.

"What's it to you scum?" Victor spat back in his face and was ready to punch his lights out. "Ease up Gear, just saying." The old man replied and then looked at them carefully and put out his hand to shake Jacobs.

"The name's Brian. Brian Stubbs. Got my sorry ass dragged here about 6 months ago when the grubs popped up outside of Ephyra and stormed the camp I was at. Took a few of the others that night but they are all dead." He said looking Jacob in the eye and with his one eye he showed him the amount of pain he had suffered but shown he still had something left in him.

Jacob took his hand and said "Sergeant Jacob Wyler. We got caught during a battle down here. I had only heard the rumors going about but it's true. What do the grubs take prisoners for?" trying to form a bond with the old man. Jacob seen immediately that this guy could help them.

"Well they put us to work building more of these damn cages, sometimes if your skilled enough they might make you repair some of their god damn weapons and shit, but you know the term "An army marches on its stomach"…" he trailed off letting them take in the information for themselves.

"That's fucking sick!" Victor shouted and turned around to the door and shouted "You ain't eating me you fuckers! You hear that?!" he shouted and stepped back before the Grub tried to punch him. Jase put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head in disappointment and Victor knew what he meant.

"Well boys, you better get some rest. They move us out soon enough. The beast barges are rarely late and you will need all the sleep you can get." Brian said before sitting down and moving the peak of his cap down over his eyes. The Gears got down and tried to sleep but Jacob's mind was racing with a thousand thoughts.

Hours passed and a guttural roar informed the prisoners to awake for another hard day's labor. Most of the workers rose to their feet but some had to be dragged from their nightmarish reverie and some kicked and screamed, not knowing the dream from reality. Jacob could only guess the nightmares were about the torture and hardship these people had to go through everyday just to survive under the grubs.

"There's the beast barge now. Ugly looking thing ain't it?" Brian said while pointing at this enormous beast crawling along the roof of the caverns with massive long hooks to penetrate the hard stone so it could go to the next destination. It looked like it was part beast part machine, with the massive hangar like structure where the prisoners would be held almost part of the beast's anatomy.

"What the hell? Is it machine or grub?" Victor asked in pure shock. No Gear had ever seen one of these things, or at least seen it and told the tale.

"As far as I know its grub but how much I couldn't tell Ya." He replied, looking around at the prisoners he recognized and nodding to them, trying to help them through another day. Jacob took Brian to be the leader of these prisoners, the one who helped them through the hard days and hard nights, _Must be taking its toll on the man_ he thought. One of the drones turned to them and opened the cage and shouted some kind of command and everybody started moving in single file towards the beast barge. Jacob was terrified but damn if he was going to show fear in front of the damn enemy. Slowly but surely they passed up the ramp into the hold. I boomer with a big chain gun was standing in the middle of the hold ready to turn anybody trying to make a run for it into a steaming pile of mulch. _Where are our guys?_ Jacob kept thinking trying to hope for the best and that a crack team of Gears would just board the barge on time to save them and they would fight their way back to Jacinto but minutes passed and nothing happened and he sighed as the door closed in his face. Jacob, Victor and Jase were all in the same holding cell and it wasn't that big for the 3 of them but at least they were together.

"They have loads of guards about, there isn't a chance in hell were busting out of here without being shot to pieces." Jase said arguing with Victor

"But at least we died fighting like real warriors! Not prisoners to the fucking grubs!" Victor shouted back, his rage barely contained by Jase's logical thinking.

"Both of you shut the hell up for a minute. Jase is right in a sense. There are loads of them out there watching us, but we got to pick the right moment when there isn't as many of them so we stand some kind of chance. Don't worry, fate won't let us down."

"Fate?" Jase said with a look of anger on his face. He didn't show his emotions much but drastic times…

"Well it's by fate that I'm actually still alive, more than 14 years since E-day. Its fate that we dropped the Lightmass bomb on these fuckers and its fate that were going to be here when this damn war comes to an end" he said as cool as an ice-pop. He stated this like it was a fact and not just his own feelings and thoughts.

"Well I'm rolling with the Sarge on this one…" Victor said, both of them looking at Jase who stared at both of them with a look of contempt, then his expression changed again and he sighed "Ok…let's play the hand of fate."

The beast barge lurched around while moving and it was playing havoc with Jacobs's stomach. But he calmed himself with thoughts of his childhood; out at the docks of Jacinto bay on his Uncle's fishing boat during the long summers off School. The time him and his father and his uncle stayed out at sea too long and the tides started to throw the boat around like a rag doll and only by sheer luck did they manage to make it back to the shore in one piece. He smiled at this thought, _there you go, once again fate to the rescue!_

Something was pinging outside off the metal parts of the Barge and the lurching started to get more violent until it was nearly tilting to one side. _What the hell?_ He thought Victor and Jase looked at him with a look of surprise on their faces. "Must be…it couldn't be could it?" Victor said the look of surprise nearly turning to joy.

"Let's just hope it is our boys and not this thing going down. Who know what is beneath us right now?" Jase said and it was like bursting a bubble on a child.

"Way to spoil the mood…" Victor said turning towards the door, hoping that it would open and he could see what was happening. There was nothing worse for a soldier than to be sitting there doing nothing while somebody else did all the work, it was like it was completely out of your hands and if you died it was somebody else's fault.

Suddenly loud clanging noise rung through out the room and Victor stuck his boot into the door and with bone jarring force the door swung open and the stench of blood and sweat filled their nostrils but at once they all piled out of the cell into the open hold. 2 drones lay dead on the floor but gunfire could be heard on the top deck, the unfathomably fast whine of the mulcher telling that it was still alive up there and doing its job. Grabbing the weapons of the drones Jase and Victor took the Hammerbursts while Jacob lifted the Boltok 6 shooter and some ammo from one of the corpses.

The rest of the prisoners started to open their doors carefully and Brian poked his head out to see what was going on. "Brian! Keep these people down here for now, I'll tell you when to come out." Jacob said as he seen the Baseball cap appear from the crack of the door.

The man nodded and started shouting to his fellow prisoners to stay in their cells for now and that the "mighty brave Gears" will sort the grubs out. Jacob heard the words and thought _I hope he's right because that damn boomer might rip us to shreds!_

"Ok, Jase you take point and move up them steps." Jacob pointed towards the steps on his right, figuring out that the boomer was on the other side of the barge from the constant whine of its mulcher. They moved out as quietly as possible and crouched so they would be harder to hit when they got to the top deck. Peering around the corner of the stairwell out onto the deck Jase waved his hand to signal the other to move up.

Getting onto the deck the Boomer was firing into another beast barge across the cavern and there was hails of fire returning from the other. _Maybe a squad of gears took over the other one?_ He thought but he didn't have time to dwell and Victor moved ahead of Jase and took aim and looked back at Jacob with the look on his face that he read as _can I shoot it?_ And with a nod they all opened up with everything they had into the back of the Boomer. It convulsed and swayed around trying to see the new threat but the rocking of the barge made the lumbering monster loose its footing and it fell backwards over the edge of the barge and with a heavy splash its scream stopped.

"Victor get onto that Troika now!" Jacob pointed to the troika machine gun that was now visible since the Boomer took its dive. Victor swept the gun around looking for targets and Jase and Jacob walked towards the port bow of the Barge looking towards the other one. But the sight he seen on the other one made his jaw drop.

"What the…" was all he managed to get out before Jase grabbed him by collar and dragged him down into cover. Hails of fire kept coming across from the other Barge and all Jacob could think was _what the hell is going on?_


End file.
